Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Kickstart the Week with The Ronin #1

By: Nicole D’Andria

Today we
have an adaptation of a novel based on a Zen myth, The Ronin! A sword-wielding “wandering samurai”
terrorizes towns and leaves more of an impact than he ever anticipated.The project is being promoted by world famous actor Cary-Hiroyuki
Tagawa (Kubo and the Two Strings, Mortal Kombat). We’ll be learning more about the
project as we speak with the writer.

The Ronin is based on the William Dale Jennings
novel of the same name. It is told out of sequence and follows the perspectives
of people the Ronin has affected, including a child he made an orphan who plans
to get his revenge. The story shows the characters grow and change in 12th
century Japan.

The adapter for the comic book is Chris Dickens (Vigilante Project) with artwork by Gian Carlo Bernal, colors by Jeremy Shepherd (Engineer: Konstrukt, MySpace Dark Horse Presents) and letters by
Sean Glumace (Engineer: Konstrukt, Go Girl!). The series is planned to be
about 8-10 chapters and will be collected into a graphic novel. The right for the adaptation were acquired from The Tuttle Publishing Company, which hasworks rooted in
Asian culture, language and history.

The project
will be funded if at least $5,000 are pledged by January 8, 2017 at 3:01 AM
EST. Rewards include a PDF ($5) and signed hard copy of chapter one ($10), a
poster ($30), a “Bad Guy” T-shirt ($45), a full-body black and white sketch of
you as a samurai ($175), plus more. You can also get rewards signed by actor Cary-Hiroyuki
Tagawa, one of Dickens' favorite actors who is helping to promote the project. If you're interested in learning more and possibly backing the project, check out their official Kickstarter.

Learn
more about the project from writer Chris Dickens:

Chris Dickens

Me: When you read William Dale Jennings' novel,
“The Ronin,” what made you want to adapt it to the comic book format?

Chris
Dickens:The Ronin was unlike
anything I'd ever read before. It was like poetry mixed with an action movie in
that it was extremely entertaining, but it also made me think. I appreciated
that the Ronin character was larger than life, and I enjoyed reading how he
evolved and changed as the story went on. It's a story of redemption and I
loved that.

Me: Are there any particular scenes you had to cut
from the novel or add to the comic that you could talk about?

Dickens: The Ronin
#1 is
pretty close to the first chapter of the novel. I added a scene where The Ronin
first enters the town and walks down the main street. It establishes his
presence as we see how the people of this village react to him. It's short, but
I added it so that the reader can see how feared The Ronin really is.

For book
two I added quite a bit. There are three close friends who want nothing more
than to be trained as samurai. I had to add a lot to show their relationship
and their desire to be samurai, but it is simply stated in the novel. As these
young men become samurai I needed to show their training methods and
techniques. In the novel, it's described only as "hard training" or
something along those lines.

As we
move forward into future issues, there are a few sexual assault scenes that I
have omitted for taste, but I try to stay true to the source material as much
as possible. However, it's a challenge to convey relationships in this medium,
while in the novel is it typically explained and accepted.

The Ronin Original Book

Me: The story takes place out of sequence. Do you
follow the same sequence as the book or move things around? And what is the
significance of having it out of order?

Dickens: I follow the same sequence as the novel
because I think that the order in which things are revealed is important to the
overall tale. Telling the story out of sequence really causes the reader to
think and wonder about characters and their motives. It's great because you're
not sure how these characters are related until later in the book. It's an
amazing reveal and I think that the reader gets a great payoff.

Me: What advice would you give to people trying to
adapt a novel to comics? Are there any particular tricks you learned while
working on this adaptation?

Dickens: My advice to anyone attempting to adapt a novel to comics
is to first understand the context of the novel. Don't just read what is there,
but look for what is not there. I found that I had to flesh out certain parts
and minimize others. For example, the novel may state that characters are
lifelong friends, but how do you show that in a comics format? Let creativity
be your guide, but ask the right questions.

Page from The Ronin #1

Me: Why do you feel Gian Carlo Bernal is the
“perfect fit” for this book?

Dickens: Our artist Gian Carlo Bernal is perfect for The Ronin
because he balances action and nuance perfectly. The Ronin is the type of
character whose mood changes at the drop of a hat. He is extremely volatile and
one wrong move could mean the difference between life and death. It's not easy
to find an artist that can draw someone being sliced in half just as well as he
draws a character confused by the words in a letter. Gian Carlo does both and
he does it extremely well.

Me: How did you get into contact with Tuttle
Publishing and what was the process like pitching them an adaptation?

Dickens: It started with a simple Google Search followed by a phone
call. When I first reached out to Tuttle Publishing I spoke with Steve Jadick,
who has unfortunately passed on since. Steve was amazing. He wanted to know
exactly what we had in mind and asked to see samples of the artwork to better
understand what we had in mind. There was a lot of back and forth with him
teaching me about the publishing world, and me teaching him about how things
work in comics. Ultimately we came to an understanding of how we could work
together and bring this vision to reality.

Chris Dickens and Cary Tagawa

Me: Why is
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa one of your favorite actors?

Dickens:
Cary-Hiroyuki
Tagawa has a presence about him that you just can't ignore. He draws you in and
captivates you, and you don't want to look away. He has such a powerful and
iconic voice too. He's instantly recognizable in voiceover work, and just the
sound of his voice makes you sit up and listen.

Me: What
is your favorite role of his?

Dickens: As far as my favorite role, it's hard to
pick just one. I think that everyone loved him as Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat,
but I first became aware of who he was in Showdown in Little Tokyo. I was
probably too young to be watching it, but Cary's performance was so awesome I
have never forgotten it.Then there was
Rising Sun with Wesley Snipes and Sean Connery, and now as Tagomi in The Man in
the High Castle, he is just intense and I love watching him work.

The Ronin "Bad Guy" T-Shirt

Me: What do you think is the number one reason
people should pledge money to this project?

Dickens:The Ronin is based on a Zen myth. This story is well
known throughout the world and has been told for centuries. People should
pledge money to this project to read an amazing story, but also to support
diversity in comics. The Ronin takes place in 12th century Japan and
features all Japanese characters. It was written by the late William Dale
Jennings who was a proud gay man and LGBT rights pioneer Today, The Ronin
is being adapted and written as a comic book by a black man and drawn
by an artist in the Philippines. Not only that, but it comes with an
endorsement by a prominent Japanese actor in Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. We have
amazing rewards, fantastic artwork, and a diverse team behind it all. What more
could you ask for?

Me: What inspirational words do you have for
aspiring comic book writers?

Dickens: Stop thinking about it and do it. I have been sitting on
this idea for years and I had thousands of reasons why this shouldn't work, but
I went for it and look what has happened as a result! Be fearless, but not reckless.
Do the work. Make that call, ask that question, contact that person, and make
it happen.

Me: Thanks for your time Chris! If you’re
interested in checking out The Ronin #1,
see their official Kickstarter here.

Do you
have a Kickstarter? Want to be interviewed about it and have the project
featured on "Kickstart the Week?" Let me know in the comments below
or message me on my website.